California State Government Affairs

The Special Election is May 12, 2020, results will be posted and updated here.

• Congressional District 25 – Independent expenditures in the special election for the open CA25 seat vacated by Katie Hill are nearing the $4 million mark, with both sides pulling out all the stops ahead of the May 12th runoff in two weeks between Republican Mike Garcia, a former Naval fighter pilot and Raytheon executive, and Democratic AD38 Assemblywoman Christy Smith. Smith’s campaign received high-profile endorsements last week from the A. Times and Elizabeth Warren. Garcia’s campaign has been endorsed by the local Santa Clarita Valley Signal and President Trump. Please see special election tracker for voter data.
• Senate District 28 – with two weeks to go before the special election runoff between Republican AD67 Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez and Democrat Elizabeth Romero, most indicators point to Melendez as the clear favorite. Please see special election tracker for voter data.

California Plans to Modify Stay-At-Home Order

On Tuesday, April 28, Governor Newsom announced that California is weeks away from making meaningful modifications to the stay-at-home order. Specifically, the Governor’s team presented a roadmap consisting of four stages for businesses to safely re-open. Newsom explained that we are currently in stage 1 and only weeks away from phase 2. Review the four stages here.

Nevada & Colorado Join Western States Pact

On Monday, April 27, Governor Newsom announced that Colorado and Nevada have joined a coalition of Western states coordinating a gradual lifting of coronavirus restrictions. The governors of California, Washington and Oregon had already announced a regional pact aimed at restarting their economies as the pandemic’s spread has slowed. The addition of two more states means the group will encompass some 60 million Americans, or about a fifth of the nation’s population. Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said on Twitter that “our states will only be effective when working together against the coronavirus,” citing the need to share information. And he noted that their economies are intertwined by tourism and commerce, necessitating collective action to prevent the virus from flaring anew. The growing alliance reflects the fact that governors, rather than the federal government, are making the critical decisions about when to reopen their states’ slumbering economies. All five of the Western group’s governors are Democrats, and all have said they will hew to science first. Read more here.

Federal Government Affairs

NCUA Sends Letter to Senator Crapo, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee

The National Credit Union Administration has submitted a request letter to the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. The letter outlines the Agency’s actions to aid credit unions to date, and actions it deems necessary in the legislative actions. They cover items from capital and liquidity issues to charter enhancements. The Leagues generally support these items, minus a few, such as expansive vendor authority. Many of these items we will be lobbying over the next few weeks. Stand by for more details.

Congress Return Dates

The Senate is set to return on Monday, May 4 and the House of Representatives is set to return on Monday, May 11. The Capitol is closed to visitors and staff are being staggered-in, but still accessible.

Update on PPP Loans

*Data updated as of 4/29/2020

• • Total approved loans for PPP2: Over 960,000
  • Total amount approved for PPP2: almost $90 billion dollars
  • Over 5300 lenders participating

Small Banks/Credit Unions Under $10 billion in Assets lead the way in LOANS and DOLLARS:

• • Over 587,000 loans which is about 61% of the loan volume.
  • Over $43 billion for small businesses.

Medium Banks (between $10 and $50 billion in assets):

• • Over 206,000 loans for over $20 billion dollars.

Large Banks (over $50 billion in assets):

• • Over 167,000 loans for over $25 billion dollars.

Regulatory Advocacy

Proposed Rules

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on operations, regulators have extended comment deadlines on proposed rules. The following proposals are open for comment and will be available in PowerComment soon.

Reminders

US Census 2020

Make sure you and your members are counted in the United States Census 2020! The goal of the census is to count every person living in the United States, once, only once and in the right place. U.S. Constitution mandates that this population and housing count occur every 10 years. Census data guides how more than $675 billion of federal funding is distributed to states and communities each year.

Stay Informed at the Local Level

Check your county’s COVID-19 response here to stay informed about your local health orders and additional local government actions.